First time salami using Umai

[Sutho1973]

Hi everyone

First time salami maker here and new to the forum. Just wondering if i could get some advice from you guys. I have recently made some salami using Umai and their salami spice powder mix using the instructions provided. Im at about day 12 now and while it looks pretty good i have noticed a couple of discoloured areas where its been resting on the wire rack. See the left hand side of the salami in the photo. One of the other chubbs has a similar mark. the other 2 are fine. There are no unpleasant smells or snything else but it has me a little concerned.

 

[Gwanger]

Hi everyone

First time salami maker here and new to the forum. Just wondering if i could get some advice from you guys. I have recently made some salami using Umai and their salami spice powder mix using the instructions provided. Im at about day 12 now and while it looks pretty good i have noticed a couple of discoloured areas where its been resting on the wire rack. See the left hand side of the salami in the photo. One of the other chubbs has a similar mark. the other 2 are fine. There are no unpleasant smells or snything else but it has me a little concerned. View attachment 360289 View attachment 360289

Try hanging the salami,marks are from being on racks.Hang until you have lost 30% from green weight, Hope you weighed the green weight.

 

[Robert H]

I just did my first sopprasata using umai also.It was just put in fridge yesterday so I cant say for sure if your discoloring is a problem. but I doubt it.I have a couple capicolla in umai bags that are on week three and its not all the same color. Some areas are darker but I am not worried about it.Nothing you can do but wait till it hits target weight.Your nose will tell you if something is wrong.

 

[Sutho1973]

Thanks Gwanger and Robert. Yeah i weighed them so i will know when i hit target weight. My only concern was the discoloration in a couple of places where it was resting on the rack. Other areas where its been in contact with the rack are fine. I might try hanging next time. I've also got some spanish chorizo on the go that seem ok. Might be nothing but i thought I'd better check.

 

[oberst]

Just looked at 2 racks of UMAI I have finishing. I have a tighter pattern on my racks so don’t have the wire marks you do. I would just rotate the chubs every week 180 degrees. I do that, for no reason in particular than out of habit when drying anything. Myself, I would not be concerned at all in looking at your chubs.

 

[Sutho1973]

Cheers Oberst. Time will tell i guess. I'll rotate like you suggested. I can't wsit for this to be ready. really keen to taste it.

 

[oberst]

Also forgot to mention; sometimes it’s worth calling the company. I have contacted UMAI before and gotten good feedback right from the source. Same with The Sausage Maker etc.

 

[Sutho1973]

Thanks Oberst. Here is an updated photo of my 4 chubs. They are at about 28% moisture loss after 17 days.I think they are going ok and they smell good.

 

[oberst]

Sure look good to me.

 

[chopsaw]

Lookin good . I made a simple rack so I can hang them . I let them ferment right on the rack , then just move the whole thing to the fridge . I have the extra room to do this .

 

[AustinMc]

Well once again I turn to this site for answers. I'm going to give this UMAI a go and was unsure of it, and then I see that you guys have given it a shot. I take it that you are all happy with the results. I'm going to do 20# of sopprasata, is there any special things I need to know? I guessing its pretty straight forward from watching the videos. The above photos look awesome, problem is that I think the suspense(waiting time) is going to kill me. After I give this a go, I may be thinking of a meat curing house for temp and humidity, does anyone have any plans that they would want to share, or is it easier to just go the UMAI way?

 

[Sutho1973]

Hey Chopsaw

Yeah using a rack like that is a great idea. I really need to get another fridge. I'm taking up 2 shelves already and i can see this hobby will just keep growing. Especially if it ends up turning out good. We have started keeping our own pigs the last couple of years and before we butcher one this year i wanted to do a few test runs making salami etc. Fingers crossed it turns out ok before i commit to using our own pork. I'll throw up some pics when its ready. I've also got some spanish chorizo which is about a week behind the salami.

 

[Sutho1973]

Hey AustinMc

Yeah i reckon give it a chop. The directions are pretty straight forward and for those of us without a dedicated curing chamber it fits the bill i think.

 

[Sutho1973]

Maybe try a smaller batch first though so you arent dissapointed if it doesnt work out as planned.

 

[AustinMc]

Maybe try a smaller batch first though so you arent dissapointed if it doesnt work out as planned.

ya man....good idea.....I always seem to swing for the fence when I should play in the little field first!! figure I will give 5lbs a go....then do another 5 lbs. a month after. Thanks for the feed back....cheers

 

[Sutho1973]

Well here are the results. Really happy with how it turned out. The marks i had on the chubbs early on were from the cookie rack i had them resting on. It had a few areas of surface rust that i didnt see. What a goose eh? Anyway i cut them up and vac sealed today. Probably a bit milder a flavour than i would normally go for but perfect for a first timer. Umai is spot on i reckon. Cant wait for the chorizo which should be ready in another week.

 

[chopsaw]

Nice job bud . Looks good .

 

[myownidaho]

Superb. They look great.

 

[Gwanger]

Well here are the results. Really happy with how it turned out. The marks i had on the chubbs early on were from the cookie rack i had them resting on. It had a few areas of surface rust that i didnt see. What a goose eh? Anyway i cut them up and vac sealed today. Probably a bit milder a flavour than i would normally go for but perfect for a first timer. Umai is spot on i reckon. Cant wait for the chorizo which should be ready in another week.

Nice fat distribution on that sausage

 

[Sutho1973]

Thanks for the comments guys. Here is a pic of my Spanish Chorizo that i packaged this morning. Tastes great and more my style of sausage.